Yedioth Ahronoth: Israel decides to freeze a plan to establish a “humanitarian city” in the ruins of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Monday that the plan to establish a so-called “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip has been frozen, according to a senior Israeli security source.
According to the source, the plan, which aimed to absorb hundreds of thousands of Palestinians as a first step toward their displacement, has not received a decision to implement it, and no alternative plan is currently being proposed.
The Israeli newspaper said, “After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army about two weeks ago to develop an alternative plan for the project, and amid public anger over the army’s failure to plan for the construction of Gaza City within a few weeks, this alternative was never presented, and the political leadership almost forgot about it”.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, “The political leadership was also certain that it would be a hostage deal that included withdrawals from the separation points in the southern Gaza Strip, and so it appears to have backed down from this step… It’s now on the sidelines”.
This development represents a reversal of a project that has sparked widespread controversy in legal and political circles, given its serious humanitarian consequences related to population displacement and potential demographic change in the Strip.
